A Different Way
by L.M. Nelson
Summary: A different way things could have happened. A different way her life could be. LIT! Rated M for language and drugs.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I don't own anything.

A different way things could have happened. A different way her life could be.

Just a little something that popped into my head.

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** A Different Way**

"What are you doing here?" Rory said looking, wide eyed, at the man in front of her.

"Hey Rory."

_This was it. She was loosing all control of herself. She was loosing everything. She was loosing her virginity. She was old enough, she thought. She was in college. She should be able to make her own decisions concerning her love life. And this was the choice she was making; To sleep with Jess. _

It wasn't like they were 17 and uncontrollable teenaged hormonal sexual beings. They were adults and they were mature and starting a mature adult relationship.

That mature adult relationship didn't last long. Two months, give or take. Before he left, before he told her he was sorry and couldn't stay. It was the week Rory was going to go back to Yale for her third year. She was devastated, so she went to her mother, who had been right again.

When Lorelai found out about the new relationship between Rory and Jess she was strongly against it. She made her feelings known to Rory; "He's just gonna hurt you again. He's gonna leave you again!"; which prompted her to move out of the house and in with Jess for the summer. When Jess left she went back to her mother.

She never really knew why he did leave. She was never told and she never cared to find out. When he left she was done. She told herself over and over, every night she was done with being in love with him. She told herself that she was done waiting and pining. She told herself all these things just before falling asleep and dreaming about him.

And now here she stood, one year and eight months later, in front of Jess. The person she had tried so hard to forget. The person she was still very much in love with.

"What are you doing here?" She asked again.

"I came to see you."

"Oh. Oh. Oh." She said shaking her head, "You came to see me. Well hey that's great. You came to see me." she said slightly hysteric.

"Ror. Stop."

"No. You came to see me. Well what if I don't see you!" She said before turning to leave.

"Rory. Stop!" Jess said grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him.

"You cant tell me what to do!" She said trying to shake her arm from his grasp, she failed.

"Rory. Please." He plead, staring down into her deep blue eyes.

"No." She said quietly.

"Only say no if you really want me to leave."

Rory closed her eyes remembering the conversation they had one year and ten months ago.

"_Only say no if you really mean it." _

_Rory looked into his eyes. "I don't." She admitted. _

She was so stupid she thought, before she yelled out, "No!"

"Rory. I know you still love me and I still love you. We can be together now, Rory."

"No!" She screamed. "We cant be together! We will never be together! We had our chance! Hell we had our chances! And it still hurt in the end! We don't belong together! That much is obvious! And I don't love you anymore!" She flat out lied.

Jess released her arm and stepped back. She watched as his eyes darkened. She watched as he left her life again. She nearly doubled over from the pain in her stomach. She was trying to keep from crying. Her eyes burned and she gave in, and let her tears stream down her face.

Lorelai approached her, a child in her arms. "Rory? What's wrong!"

"He was here. I yelled at him. I told him I didn't love him. I lied to him."

Lorelai knew who he was. She pulled Rory into a hug and held her as she began to cry uncontrollably.

"Did you tell him?" Lorelai asked.

"No." She shook her head looking at the small boy in her mother's arms.

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It had been a little over three years. Rory was writing for The Stanford Gazette. She was doing well.

She was now on her way to pick up Will from day care. Will was her four year old son. She was going to pick him up and take him to the book store, like she had promised.

She stopped the car, took the key from the ignition and silenced the engine. She jumped out of the car and headed for the front entrance of Children's World Learning Center.

She walked inside towards Will's classroom.

"Elizabeth." Rory greeted Will's teacher.

"Hey Rory." She turned her attention to the gang of children running wildly around the room, "Will, your mother is here. Please get your things."

"Was he behaved today?" Rory asked as Will got his stuff together.

"Just as behaved as he can be."

Rory smiled. "That's his father coming to the surface."

"His father a wild one?"

"Oh definitely." Rory smiled thinking about Jess.

"I'm ready!" Will shouted coming to stand in front of his mother.

"Alright lets go." Rory said taking his hand.

They got to the book store and greeted the man behind the counter.

"Hey John." Rory smiled at him before directing her attention to Will, "Sweetie why don't you go in the back and see which book you wanna get."

"Okay!" He said before running off to the kids section.

"So John, got anything new that I might like?"

"Yep. I just got these in." He said pulling a box out. He took a book from the top and handed it to her.

"The Sub-Sect." She read aloud, "Written By..." She froze, "Jess Mariano."

She didn't remember opening the book, but obviously she had, as she was now staring at the dedication page.

_Rory Gilmore. _

_I love you. _

_I will always love you. _

_And without you I never could have done this._

"How much?" She asked.

"Seven Fifty." He said.

Rory pulled her wallet out of her purse.

"The author's coming in later on in the week. If you want to meet the guy." John said taking the money, completing the transaction.

Rory nodded. She took the book to the back where Will was looking at books.

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This was intended to be a one shot but if you would like I could add on. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I don't own anything.

A different way things could have happened. A different way her life could be.

To All My Reviewers- PAIGE, AHJNKCES, sassafrassgirl, Colleen, crissy, JavaLit, Kylie1403, Maran-DUH, penny, roryjessfan02, Gilmore-Girls&Lost-Fan, Emily, jesslover, LitGG1982, and milover. Thank you all! I love you! It's unhealthy!♥

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**A Different Way**

Rory and Will walked towards the front of the store. Will was holding a book tightly. Rory took it and handed it to John. 

"That'll be nine eighty."

Rory handed him the money, John put the book in a bag, and handed it to Will.

Rory looked at the book that hadn't left her hand, "When is the author coming in?" She asked.

"He'll be here Thursday."

Rory nodded, "I'll see you later John." She said before taking Will's hand and exiting the store.

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It was Thursday. Rory was sitting in her car staring at the familiar book store. Then she saw him, he was walking into the store, and her heart was somewhere by the brake pedal. She some how managed to gather herself and get out of the car.

She was standing in front of the store, opening the door and stepping inside, all the while completely petrified. She stood there, staring at him. He looked good, he looked the same, but different. His hair was a little shorter, he was wearing jeans, no more leather jacket, and he was wearing the converse she wrote all over when they were together. The writing had faded, but she could still make out, "Property of Rory Gilmore" scribbled on the side.

She, at that point, realized he was looking back at her. She looked him directly in the eyes, and he returned the action. She suddenly became very nervous, she pulled her gaze away from his, and became very interested in her own shoes.

"Hey."

She looked up again, "Hey."

He smiled at her, "Its been a while."

"Yeah it has."

John walked up to Rory, "Hey Rory, where's Will?"

Rory suddenly felt all the blood leave her face, "Uh, oh, uhm, Alice should be uhm dropping him off soon."

"Oh, I got a new shipment in he might like."

Rory smiled at him, "Good. I'll tell him when he gets here."

John walked off into the back of the store leaving Rory and Jess alone again. Rory stood there waiting for the question she knew he would ask.

"Who's Will?"

And there it was. The question, the question she dreaded, the question she welcomed, the question she didn't know how to answer, the question she couldn't bring her self to answer.

"Uhm..." She couldn't find the words.

The bell above the door rang and Alice walked in holding Will's hand. Rory spun around to face them.

"Hey Rory."

"Hey Alice." Rory looked at Will, "Hey honey."

"Mommy!" Will shouted jumping into Rory's open arms, hugging her tightly.

This time it was Jess' turn to be speechless.

Rory turned back to Jess, with Will at her side. "Jess, this is Will, my son."

"Wow."

"It's been a while." Rory told him.

"Yeah. It has." Jess eyed the child, "Maybe we could talk."

"Yeah. That'd be good." Rory nodded.

"Maybe we could talk here."

"Okay." Rory knelt down to Will's level, "Hey baby, why don't you go into the back and find Mr. John, he said he had some new books for you to see."

"Okay." Will said, with his fingers in his mouth, before running to the back.

Rory stood up and looked at Jess who was staring at Will's retreating form.

He turned back to her and asked, "How old is he?"

"He'll be 5 in May." Rory answered, half hoping he would figure it out, so she wouldn't have to tell him, and the other half hoping he wouldn't, so she didn't have to tell him.

Jess nodded, looked down, closed his eyes, and shook his head. It was then Rory knew he had figured it out. What did she expect, he was always brilliant, and this wasn't that difficult to figure out.

"Jess." Rory said, not really having anything else to say.

Jess held up his hand, "Don't." He looked up at her, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I. I just. I don't. I mean. I just."

"Jeez you cant even come up with a good lie."

"Jess!"

"No Rory! I came back to you! Three years ago! You could have told me then! Why didn't you!" Jess yelled.

"Jess!" Rory shouted. "Not in here." She said quieter.

Jess nodded looking around the small book store. Rory walked outside, she trusted John with Will. Jess followed her still fuming.

As soon as they were outside Jess started in again, ironically quieter now, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I just didn't."

"That's a really great reason Ror!" Jess yelled, his voice drenched with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry!" Rory yelled back.

"Well that's great Rory! "I'm sorry"! That really makes up for everything I've missed!" Jess screamed. "God Rory. I never thought you would be so self absorbed! I thought that you gave a damn about other people! I thought you gave a damn about me! Guess I was wrong!"

"Fuck you!" Rory screamed.

"Right back at you!" Jess yelled before walking away.

Rory sighed, that wasn't how that was supposed to go. She shook her head, what did she expect. She really didn't know how that should have gone, she let the thought that his reaction was justified slip quietly out of her mind, the way he acted made her angry, even though she knew he had every right to act that way.

Her conflicting thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone ringing.

She answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey Rory." The voice on the other end of the phone responded.

She sighed. "Hey hon."

"What's wrong? You sound upset."

"No. Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired."

"Well all right. What time do you think you'll be home tonight? And do I need to pick up Will?"

"Oh no. I got off early and Will is with me. We're at the book store."

"Oh always with the book store." He joked.

"Yes always with the book store." Rory smiled. "Well we'll be home soon. I'll try and tear him away from John."

"Alright. See you soon, babe."

"Bye Tony." Rory hung up the phone, let out another sigh and went back into the book store to retrieve Will.

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Please leave a review. Please tell me what you think if you like it. I really love the response.. Please it makes my boring day tolerable. Please Please Please tell me what you think. 

♥ Newtie ♥


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, Tony and this Quarter I found in my pocket!

To All My Reviewers- Kylie1403, gilmoregrly4life, milover, Maran-DUH, paige, xxxLotxxx, petitos grasshoppertje, and mezz. Thank you all! I love you! It's unhealthy!♥

All, or most of your questions will be answered.

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**A Different Way**

Rory walked in the front door of the rather large apartment holding Will's hand.

"Tony?" She asked, dropping Will's day care stuff by the entry table.

"Hey Baby." Tony said walking into view holding a wooden spoon. He walked over to her and kissed her quickly on the lips. "How was your day?"

"Okay." Rory said as Will ran off into the apartment with his new book.

"You got him another book?"

"Yes."

"You know pretty soon his room's gonna be over taken by all the books he has." He said walking to the kitchen.

Ror followed, "Well if that happens we'll just have to move, and find a room big enough for all the books." She said picking up a piece of carrot and nibbling on it.

"So. What happened today?" He asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye while he stirred the sauce.

She was about to tell him, 'Nothing.' but she was interrupted by Will. "Mommy?"

Tony and Rory both looked at the child, "What is it?" She asked.

"Is Tony my Daddy?" He asked.

"No." Rory answered quickly, gaining a look from Tony. she knelt down, "No he's not. Your daddy is not here." She told him simply.

Will nodded slowly, "Okay." He said before running off back to his book.

Rory stood back up, looking at her hands, which fiddled with nothing. It was silent between the two, while they finished making dinner and all through dinner. Will would talk and they would talk to him, but not to each other.

Tony went to bed early, mumbling something about an early meeting tomorrow. Rory read Will a story and tucked him in to bed, and turned off his light.

She went to the living room and turned on the TV, soon it was midnight and she was running through things in her head, over and over again. The way she acted and screamed at Jess. The way he screamed back.

Her quick response when Will asked if Tony was his dad. The look Tony gave her when she did. She thought it might be justified, they had agreed that when the question came up they would tell him that Tony was his father, to make the situation easier. But after everything that had happened she couldn't bring herself to lie to him.

She ended up falling asleep on the couch. She didn't have to work this Friday, she was gonna spend the day with Will. Probably go to the book store or the library. She was looking forward to it.

Rory woke up to Will tapping on her shoulder.

"Good morning sweetheart." She looked around, "What time is it?" She asked no one.

"Six Fifteen." Tony said walking out from the hall way fully dressed and trying to tie his tie.

Rory stood up to help him. He stared at her as she tied it gracefully.

He looked down at her hand, "Where's the ring?" He asked.

She pulled her hands away from the finished product, "I took it off when I took a shower yesterday morning. I'll go get it now."

Tony nodded. "Well I have to go. Bye Will." He turned to Rory who was walking out of their room putting the ring on her left ring finger, "Bye Rory." He said before leaving.

"Okay Will why don't you go back to bed." Rory said looking at the clock noticing how early it was.

"But I'm not tired." Will protested, yawning.

"Well just try to get a few more hours, for mommy."

"Okay." He said dragging the teddy bear Luke got him behind him.

Rory went back into her room and fell back on the bed with a sigh. She got up again and went to take a shower, she didn't take the ring off this time.

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It was eight thirty, and Rory had planned the day from here. They were going to Stars Hollow. They hadn't been in about three weeks and her mother had left several messages complaining about this.

Once Will was dressed and ready she loaded him into the car with a few books and his Teddy bear. She got into the front seat and headed for home.

When they got there they were greeted first by Miss Patty and Babette, who had hints of concern and urgency on their faces. Rory couldn't even begin to figure out why.

"Oh look at him. How old are you Sugar?" Babette asked Will.

"Four." He said one hand in his mouth the other holding up four fingers, for a visual.

"Oh such a big boy! And Rory, dear, we haven't seen you in weeks." Patty exclaimed.

"Yeah. Well I'm here now. I might stay the night."

"Oh that's fabulous Sugar." Babette said.

And there was that look again, worry and panic, fleeting across their smiling faces.

Rory shook it off and told them, "Well we're gonna go to Luke's say hello to my mom."

"No!" Both Patty and Babette shouted in unison.

Rory looked at them like they were insane, "What!"

They both look like they were looking for answers.

"Your mother isn't in there!" Patty shouted.

"Yeah she's at the inn!" Babette added, equally loud.

"Okay, well we're gonna go to Luke's anyways. We're gonna have breakfast." Rory told them.

The nervous faces passed over them again, this time unchecked. Rory turned around and walked with Will to the front door of Luke's.

They sat down at the counter and waited. She looked around and noticed everyone was looking at her. She didn't know why, they had a look about them like she was a bomb that was set to explode any minute.

When she turned around she figured out why. There in front of her, ready to take her order, was Jess.

And there they were, silent, staring, motionless. They were staring, it wasn't hostile, it was, if at all possible, it was tranquil and apologetic, even still there was tension sparking around them.

He looked down, his eyes fell on her hands, and he saw it.

"Married?" He asked motioning to her finger.

"I.." She stopped.

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Oh my god don't you just hate me right now! Well be calm, all will end well. I just love to make with the conflict and angst. Please leave a review. 

♥ Newtie ♥


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, Tony and the quarter turned out to be my sister's.

To All My Reviewers- petitos grasshoppertje, spyhorse, and Kylie1403, Thank you.

And Kelly, I love you. What you wrote was so sweet. Thank you.

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**A Different Way**

"I.. I'm engaged." Rory stuttered.

"Congratulations." Jess said monotone.

"Jess. I."

"What can I get you?" He asked ignoring her.

"Uhm, just coffee and.. Will what do you want?"

"Eggs."

"And some scrambled eggs." Rory relayed the order to Jess.

He turned around and gave the order to Caesar. He turned back and gave Rory her coffee.

She watched him, and she couldn't help control the sad feeling that sank into her heart. She wanted so badly to say she was sorry. To tell him that she still loved him. To make everything better. But she couldn't.

"Jess. Can we talk?"

"I'm working." He told her before walking away.

She looked down. Caesar brought Will's food, and Rory didn't see Jess the rest of her time in the diner.

When she left she walked with Will to the Inn.

"Rory!" She shouted running up to her and hugging her. "Will!" She picked him up and swung him around.

"Hey mom." Rory said smiling.

"Hey honey. Did I know you were coming?"

"Nope. Surprise visit." Rory smiled.

"Good. When did you get here?" She asked.

"About thirty minutes ago."

"Well then what took you so long?"

"We went to the diner." Rory noted the look of worry and panic as it flashed across her mother's features. She figured she might as well answer the question her mother was afraid to as, "I saw him."

"Crap." Lorelai sighed. "Hey Will why don't you go say hello to Michel."

"Okay." Will nodded and went off to bug Michel.

"So.." Lorelai said as she and Rory walked to a couch.

"Its not a big deal." She said sitting down on the couch. "I saw him yesterday."

"What?" Lorelai asked sitting next to her.

"He was at a book store. The one Will and I go to almost everyday. He wrote a book you know." Rory shook her head, "He wrote a book."

"I know."

"Well I didn't. And John told me that Jess was coming in yesterday and so I went. And then Will came. And he's not stupid. He knew. He asked me how old he was. And he knew."

"Oh Jeez."

"We got into this huge fight. He started yelling, we were still in the store and then I told him not inside. And then we went outside and yelled some more." Rory sighed, "And It all ended with me yelling an obscenity at him and him leaving."

"Oh god. I'm so sorry. What did Tony think?"

"I didn't tell him." Rory sighed, "Oh and then! Will asked us if Tony was his daddy, and I said no."

"I thought you guys agreed that you were gonna tell him he was."

"We did. But I don't know I just didn't, I really don't have a real reason why I didn't go along with it."

"Yeah you do."

Rory glared at her mother. "Well Tony was all pissed off."

"Well yeah."

"I really don't think he should be. Its not like he's actually his father." Rory said absent mindedly twisting the ring on her finger.

"Well I know. But he's been there. For almost three years. He's as much of a father as he's gonna get."

"That's not true. He has a father. And its not Tony."

"Well his father really doesn't want him."

"You don't know that!" Rory yelled, gaining a look form her mother.

"Okay Rory. I can see that this is something we need to talk about in depth, cause just wow. So tonight you and I will have a night and I'll send Luke to Jess' And it'll just be us. Okay."

"Okay." Rory nodded.

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Luke stood at the door of the apartment above the diner. He knocked.

Jess swung the door open, "Luke?"

"Hey. Lorelai sent me over. Her and Rory are having a night or what ever. She told me to stay here." Luke explained.

"Well its nice to be informed, come on in." Jess said stepping away from the door, allowing Luke to come in. "You know the place, obviously. I'll be writing. Make yourself at home."

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Rory walked down into the living room of her childhood home, "Will's asleep." She told Lorelai who was waiting on the floor with various junk food items.

"Good. Now, sit down we have some talking to do." Lorelai demanded.

Rory sat down on the floor, facing her mother. It was silent for a moment before Rory spoke, "I still love him."

Lorelai was almost knocked over, "Wow, you just jump right in don't you."

"Well I don't wanna be here all night. I plan on sleeping eventually."

"Okay. Well are you sure?"

Rory sighed, "Yeah." Rory looked down, grabbed a chip and said, "I don't know if I want to marry Tony." She admitted quietly, turning the chip in her hand.

Lorelai looked sadly at Rory, "Sweetie..."

"I sound insane, don't I?"

"Well yeah."

Rory glared at her mother.

"Well your about to throw away a three year relationship for Jess. You sound a little unbalanced."

"What's that supposed to mean, 'For Jess.'?"

"It means your relationship with Tony is a lot more meaningful than your relationships with Jess."

"My relationships with Jess were plenty meaningful, obviously it resulted in a child! Or did you forget about Will?"

"Sweetie, sex doesn't equal meaningful. Honey, you and Tony agreed to tell Will that he was Will's father, why?"

"Because... Tony.."

"Was permanent. He is so much more reliable Jess will ever be."

"That's not true! He's changed. He wrote a book!"

"I know. But that doesn't change who he is."

"I cant believe I'm hearing this. You should know that people can change! That people can be better!" Rory said getting upset.

"Rory, calm down."

"No! We're not seventeen again! He's not some hoodlum that's gonna hurt your precious daughter! He's a grown man. He has his life together!"

"Rory. You're gonna wake Will!"

"Fine. I don't want to do that. And if I stay I'll keep yelling. So I'm leaving." Rory got up and left the house. Slamming the door as she went.

"Mommy!" Will shouted, sounding upset.

"Hold on Will. Gramma's coming." Lorelai said shaking her head and standing up.

-

Rory was walking aimlessly around town. She found herself at the bridge. She sat down and cried, for no other reason than that she was so confused.

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Please leave a review. I'm thinking of scrapping this story. So if you want it to continue please tell me that. Cause I don't want to do something that no one reads or likes.

♥ Newtie ♥


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, Tony.

To the reviewers- mcrules4191, Jessilea, kmctinkerbell, Dione Robertson, spyhorse, AHJNKCES, Maran-DUH, mezz, dodgers lady, chelsea, petitos grasshoppertje, Lola, roryjessfan02, tay, Kylie1403, Kylie1403. 

Thank you for your response. I am indeed continuing with the story.

So uhm here's a chapter that I've had since the begining. Tony and Jess speak, not to each other, thought that would be perfect for the next chapter... Ooo I like the way I think... 

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**A Different Way**

Tony got home late, he expected to find Will in bed and Rory, watching TV on the couch, waiting for him to get home. He didn't find that, he looked through the house and didn't find anyone.

While he was loosening his tie, and opening the fridge, he noticed the answering machine blinking the number one at him. He pushed the play button and Rory's voice sounded through the apartment.

"Hey Tony. Uh, its me, obviously. Uhm I took Will to Stars Hollow to see my mom and Luke. We're staying here tonight. Sorry its such short notice but my mom and I haven't spent time together in a while. Well, if you need anything you know my number." After the click, there was a long beep indicating the end of the message.

Tony hit the delete button, picked up the phone, and dialed the very familiar number. He waited as it rang, and rang, and rang.

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Rory felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her coat. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. She stopped the vibrations and slid the phone back into her pocket.

-

"Hello you've reached-" Rory's voice mail message was silenced as Tony hung up the phone.

He waited a moment and dialed yet another familiar number. And, again, he waited as it rang, and rang, and-.

"Hello?" Lorelai's hushed voice came through the line.

"Lorelai?" Tony whispered.

"Tony? Why are you whispering?" She asked still hushed.

"Cause you were." He said in a normal tone.

"That's funny. Hey kid, what's going on?" She asked.

"I was wondering if Rory was there."

"Uh. You know what. She was. We got into an argument and she stormed out. I don't know where she went." Lorelai explained.

"A fight about what?"

"Uhm. Well you know what. I don't think I can tell you." Lorelai struggled to say.

"Why not?"

"Well, I think that its something Rory needs to tell you."

It was quiet for a moment, before Tony spoke, before Lorelai heard the sadness breaking Tony's strong voice as he asked, "She's not happy, is she?"

"Tony, I.."

"She came home Monday, she wouldn't talk to me. She was just so quiet, and it scared me cause she's never quiet unless she's thinking really hard about something, you know making those lists in her head." Tony moved to lean against the counter, "And then we got into a fight on Tuesday, about books. And how she comes home everyday with a new book and its a waste of money. And I started going on about how most of her old books have writing in them, and how they're worthless and we should get rid of them to save space. It didn't go over well." Tony sighed, "I mean it blew over, by Thursday afternoon we were joking about it, but I just got the feeling, even then, that she was still upset and unhappy." Tony closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with his free hand before continuing, "And then the thing with Will and him asking if I was his dad. That was, just, that hurt more than anything else."

"I know honey."

"Three years, three years I've been there for that kid. I love him. I'm more of a father to him than that Jess guy. Why shouldn't he be mine."

"Well, sometimes things come up, that make us rethink the decisions we've made. And sometimes those things come up and we don't want them to. Sometimes we ignore them and we pay for it later. But Rory is taking the time to think everything over. She's making those lists, like you said, and she's weighing it out. Until she comes to a conclusion we just have to wait it out."

"But I'm scared, of what her decisions gonna be."

"Don't be. Cause knowing Rory, she'll make the right choice. So don't worry about it. She'll make the right choice, you don't need to worry, she loves you."

"I'm not so sure of that anymore." He said softly to himself. "Well it's late, I guess we should be sleeping."

"Yeah."

"Goodnight Lorelai."

"Goodnight." Lorelai responded before hanging up the phone.

-

Jess sat at his computer, motionless, staring at the monitor and the three words he had typed. He had been like this for maybe ten minutes when Luke started getting concerned.

"Jess?" He broke his nephews trance-like stasis.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"She had a kid." He shook his head, "It makes everything different. Before, it was just us. If I hurt her, it was only her. And it still killed me, but it was her. She was able to put her self in that position. She knew there was a chance of getting hurt." Jess sighed, "But now, there's a kid. A kid who doesn't understand. If it goes wrong it doesn't just hurt her, it hurts him too."

Luke sat silently and listened as Jess poured all of his thoughts out.

"And I'm not saying that there's even a chance that she'll let me back in. By the looks of the rock on her finger, she wont be. I want to be a part of the kids life either way. I want to be with Rory, but she has a life, and a fiancé, and she probably has a big house in Hartford and a summer house on Long Island, she wont be giving that up for me."

At this point Luke interrupted, "A summer house on Long Island?" He questioned.

"The first thing that popped into my head." Jess explained.

"Oh. Continue."

"Right. I changed for her, the last time I came here. And I told her we could be together. And she said no. That's when I made the decision to do something. I did all this for her. And she probably doesn't even know it." He ran a hand through his hair, "I don't wanna fuck up her life. Cause I've done that enough and... I don't want to fight with her."

"Then don't."

"It sounds so simple."

"Well it is."

Jess nodded. "Well I'm gonna get back to my writing."

Luke nodded and walked back to the kitchen.

Jess turned back to the screen, he looked at the three words.

_Don't hurt her._

_

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_So okay.. Yeah. There it is people. I'm trying to make you feel for the other guy. I hope it worked.

♥ Newtie ♥


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, Tony.**  
**

To All My Reviewers- Kylie1403, paige, Jade-Tessier, IdiotSavant8009, Maran-DUH, Mezz, potostfbeyeluvr, sanfrangiantsfan, and Lizzy11120. Thank you all! I love you so much!

I'm updating again in like less than 24 hours. Don't you love me!

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**A Different Way**

Rory sat on the bridge watching her feet hang over the side. She glanced at the ring that over took her finger, her other hand moved quickly to take it off. She closed her eyes and sighed as she slipped it into her pocket.

She heard the wood creaking, but she didn't look. She knew who it was by the rhythm of his steps. She held her eyes shut, she didn't want to see him, for fear she might lose herself. That she would act on what she felt. Something that made sense, but not in this situation.

"What are you doing here?" She asked eyes still closed.

"Walking." He said simply.

"At midnight?" She asked, finally opening her eyes and looking at him, she noticed he was smoking.

"Luke snores." He said simply.

"So do you." She responded quickly.

Jess nodded. It was quiet for a moment.

"I don't want to fight." He said lamely.

"I don't want to either." She said looking back out at the water.

"Then how does it always end up that way?"

Rory shrugged.

Jess threw his spent cigarette into the water. He sat down about a foot away from her and joined her as she stared out at the rippling water.

"I'm sorry."

Rory looked over at him, he continued staring at the water, finding it easier to say this with out looking at her.

"I'm sorry for leaving, both times, I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry for leaving you with a kid that you had to take care of by yourself. I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I'm sorry."

Rory shook her head, "You shouldn't be." She looked at the water and now Jess stared at her, "For leaving, yes you should be. You shouldn't be sorry for the way you acted. If I was in your place I'm sure I would do the same. And I wasn't really alone. I had my mom and Luke and this entire town, then... Tony. And I could have told you. I just didn't."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. The last time you came back, telling me that we could be together, I was so set on being over you and saying no, that nothing else mattered." She stopped, "I wasn't really over you. I still loved you. I just didn't want.. to get hurt again."

"Makes sense."

"Why did you leave?" She asked after a beat.

"I told you about Sasha, right?"

"Your dad's girlfriend."

"Right. She was in a car accident."

"Was she okay?"

"No. She died."

"Oh god."

"Yeah. And my dad had to take care of Lily, Sasha's daughter. She wasn't talking, and my dad called me, cause I was the only person Lily ever got close to. So I went down there."

"Why didn't you tell me. I would have understood." She asked standing up.

"I'm not perfectly sure, but I think that part of the thinking was that my dad, was the reason I left the first time." Jess explained looking up at her.

"I wish you would have told me. I wouldn't have cared. I would have wanted you to go."

"Well I didn't know that." He said standing up.

"Well you should have talked to me." She faced him.

"Well I cant change that now."

It was quiet again, "I wish you would have told me. Cause then, we would still be together and everything would be alright." She shook her head and looked down, "I really wish you would have told me."

"I'm sorry."

"Jess. Do you still love me?" She asked.

"I never stopped loving you."

She looked into his eyes. She leaned in and kissed him.

She pulled away, "I love you."

Jess wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, passionately.

-

Rory woke up that morning, in one of the Dragonfly's king sized beds, with Jess' arms around her.

She rolled over to face him, "Jess." She whispered.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning." She said quietly.

"Good morning." He said kissing her softly.

-

Lorelai walked downstairs, she waited up the night before, hoping Rory would come home. She didn't know if she even came home at all. When she went to her daughter's room she found it empty. She figured she went to the inn. They had a spare room, and Rory knew that.

Lorelai really didn't think the fight was that bad, but apparently it was. She turned to the coffee maker in the kitchen and started making a fresh pot.

-

"I never want to leave this room." She whispered, eyes closed.

Jess smiled, "Me either."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, "I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too." He said before kissing her again.

-

Luke woke up that morning and looked around the apartment. Jess was no where to be seen. He couldn't even begin to think about where he might be, so he went to take a shower and get ready.

-

"We have to get up eventually." Jess reasoned.

"Nuh uh."

"We have things to do."

"Nothing someone else cant do."

"We have jobs."

"Someone can fill in."

"Well then I guess there's nothing stopping us from staying here all day."

"Uh huh."

-

Tony woke up and looked at the empty space next to him. He got up and headed for the phone.

He went to dial but thought she'd probably still be asleep. He hung up the phone and headed for the shower.

He had decided to go to Stars Hollow today.

-

"Rory." Jess whispered.

"Hmm?" She moaned, eyes closed.

"We have to get up."

She opened her eyes, "I know." She kissed him.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she climbed on top of him.

"Getting you up." She said before kissing him again.

* * *

DIRTY! Even I was surprised when I wrote that last line there. Well I have officailly lost my voice and can only whisper. And I am also trying to cope with my hair cut.. 8 whole inches gone! Its a lot to handle. Anyways hope you liked the chapter. Tell me what you thought. Oh and Happy Holidays! 

Newtie


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, Tony.**  
**

To All My Reviewers- GilmoreGirl0401, Andrea Rodriguez , Jessilea, Gilmore-Girls&Lost-Fan, dodgers lady, Jade-Tessier, and gilmoreaddict. Thank you all! I l ove you so much!  
And hey **Kylie1403**- Uhm the last chapters were focused on them. The kid is in the story, but he was asleep for most of the last chapter. He's not forgotten. How could I forget him. I made him. He is the love child between Jess and Rory, who could forget him. 

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**A Different Way**

Rory laid her head on Jess' chest, listening to his heart beat as he ran his fingers, lazily, through her hair.

She smiled and kissed his chest, looking up at him she told him, "I missed this." She laid her head back down on his chest.

-

Lorelai walked in the front door of the inn, Will at her side.

"Hey Michel. Do you know if Rory is here."

"No I don't."

"Will hang here with Michel and I'll be back soon." Lorelai turned to Michel, is the key to room 14 taken?"

"It looks that way."

"Alright. Give me the spare." She instructed.

"Well you could ask a little nicer." Michel said getting out the key.

"I could. Now hand over the key." Lorelai as she grabbed it.

She headed up the stairs and to the end of the hall way, where room 14 was. She knocked.

Rory sat up quickly, "Shh." Rory said as Jess was about to whisper something.

"Rory?" Lorelai's voice came through the door.

"Shit!" Rory whispered. She looked around quickly, "Get in the closet." She instructed Jess.

"What?"

"Get in the closet!" She demanded in a whisper.

"Fine." Jess said grabbing his pants and heading for the closet.

"Rory?" Lorelai questioned again.

"What?" Rory said sounding bitter, as she pulled her shirt over her head.

"Can I come in?"

"No." She said quickly.

"What?"

"No you cant come in. I'm still mad at you." She said pulling on her pants.

"Okay. I just wanted to tell you that.. Will is down stairs and I told him he could stay here with me today. And also, Tony called last night. He's worried about you."

Rory stood behind the door, a sinking feeling starting to take hold of her. She cheated on her fiancé, she felt sick.

"Okay." She responded shakily.

"Alright babe. I'll be down stairs if you want to talk."

"Alright."

Once she was sure Lorelai had left she went to the closet, "You can come out now."

"Good." He went to kiss her, but she pulled away, looking at the floor. He looked at her strangely, "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I," She looked into his eyes, "Nothing."

He smiled, "Okay." He kissed her, "So how are we gonna get out of here."

"I'm gonna use the stairs, I'll distract my mother while you run out the door."

"Sounds like a plan." he said before kissing her again.

-

Jess sat behind the counter at Luke's reading. The bell above the door rang out, he looked up to see a man he didn't recognize walk in. Tall, brown hair, green eyes; He reminded him of Dean, only less floppy.

"Excuse me." The man approached Jess, "Do you know Rory Gilmore?"

"Who's asking?"

"I'm Tony, her fiancé."

"Oh. Yeah I know her."

"Do you know where I could find her?"

"Yeah she's at her mother's inn."

"The Dragonfly right?"

"Yep."

"Can you point me in the direction of it."

"I can do you one better. I can show you the place."

"Well thank you."

"Not a problem." Jess said. He wondered why was he doing this, he should be hating this guy, he held a claim to Rory. But he felt bad for him, he pitied him, he knew that he should, Rory was drifting, this man's claim was wavering, he knew this when he saw her take the ring off.

They were there. Jess walked up the old wooden steps and Tony followed.

"Wait here I'll get her." Jess said before going to the kitchen, where he found Rory sitting with Will and Lorelai while Sookie was cooking.

"Rory."

"Jess?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay." She said standing up, and walking towards the back door, Jess followed.

Lorelai looked at Sookie once the door closed, "What was that about?"

"I know, I thought they were fighting."

"Me too."

"That's the guy that snuck out of the inn this morning." Will said with a smile, proud that he recognized him.

"What!" Lorelai and Sookie asked in unison.

-

"What is it?" Rory asked when they were outside.

"Tony is here."

"What!"

"He came to the diner. And he's here."

"Oh my god!" Rory said starting to pace.

"I know."

"Oh god. I think I'm gonna be sick." She stopped her motions.

"Stop. You're freaking out."

"I should be freaking out! I had slept with you! I cheated on my fiancé! I should be freaking out!"

"You're right. Go ahead, freak out. Its not gonna help anything."

"You're right." Rory looked at Jess, "What am I gonna do?"

Jess shrugged, he moved to grab her hand, "Do you want to be with him?" He asked looking at her hand as he rubbed circles on her palm.

"I don't think so."

"Talk to him."

She looked up at him, "I should talk to him."

Jess nodded, "Go."

Rory pouted and walked to the inn. She went to the kitchen and out to the front, where Tony stood waiting.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey babe." He went to kiss her.

-

Jess walked into the kitchen. Grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup of coffee. He went to take a sip.

"So what's this about you sneaking out of the inn this morning?" Lorelai asked frown firmly on her face.

Jess nearly spit the sip of coffee he had just taken. He looked at Lorelai, a scared look on his face.

"Maybe you and I should talk." She motioned for the back door, before walking towards it.

Jess followed.

As soon as he was outside Lorelai asked him, "Did you sleep with her?"

"What?"

"You slept with her didn't you?"

"Lorelai."

"You know when you came back you said you weren't here to hurt her or ruin her life. You said you would stay out of it. And you know what I believed you. But you know what you've just screwed up her life again!"

"Now wait a minute."

"No, Jess! You slept with her!"

"So?"

"So she's not yours to sleep with! Jess she's engaged!"

"I know that!"

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because she wanted to! I wasn't going to pursue anything with her. I wanted to be a part of Will's life that's it! I did not come to this town with a plan to get her back into bed! I did nothing wrong here!"

"Yes you did!"

"Fine I did! I did bad! You wanna get the news paper and hit me on the nose maybe I'll learn to do better!"

"Yeah well it couldn't hurt."

"I'm done here!" Jess yelled walking away

"Yeah me too!"

"You know she doesn't even want to be with him anymore!" Jess yelled back towards her.

"Then wait till he's moved out! Then you can move in!"

* * *

So here is my Holiday gift to you! I got Season Two on DVD and soon will have Season Three! Happy Christmukkah! I'll be lighting my candle in a moment! 

Happy holidays all!

Newtie Clause

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, Tony. And the Lizard Jess... Which doesn't make sense now but it will.. oh yes it will...  
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Thanks to all the reviewers! Love you!

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**A Different Way**

Jess looked at a picture that was on the mantle, it was of Rory when she was pregnant. He continued looking and picked one up, Rory was wearing fuzzy multicolored slippers, pink and purple flannel pajama bottoms and a gray shirt, the shirt was his.

Lorelai walked in and looked at him. She walked to where he stood, looking at the picture, "When she found out she cried for three days straight. And then, when she stopped crying, she wouldn't come out of the house for two weeks. She wouldn't talk, or eat, she wouldn't look at me, she barely slept at all. This," She motioned to the picture Jess held, "Is when she came back to me. She walked out of her room, looked at me and said, 'I messed up mommy.' And I told her I knew and that it would be okay and that we would figure it out."

"What happened?"

"She cried, a lot. Not just then but all through her pregnancy, and even after. She was so scared. She was so afraid she wouldn't be able to do it. She, for about a week.." She stopped wondering if she should tell him, she decided it was okay, "She tried to find you. She completely freaked out. That was when Will would not stop crying. She couldn't stop crying either, countless boxes of tissues were either bought, stolen, or made for her."

"Made?"

"Babette."

Jess nodded.

"She really wanted to find you. She exhausted every resource, including Paris. Which was hard for her, she had to ask for help, and when she asked she begged." Lorelai sighed, "She was never able to find you, obviously. But you should know she wanted to."

"What happened?"

"She gave up."

"What about when I came back?"

"She was hell bent on not needing you anymore."

"Why?"

"Please, you're asking me to delve into the mind of my insane, new mother, teenaged daughter."

"Right, sorry."

It was quiet for a moment, "What were you doing here anyways?" Lorelai asked.

"Waiting for Rory."

"Right, right. Waiting for Rory. Waiting for her to get here so you guys can have a nooner before Tony gets here?"

"Stop."

"No, no. Don't let me get in the way. Condoms are in the third drawer on the right side in the bathroom, be sure to grab one, make sure you don't get her knocked up again."

"Stop."

"No seriously, use one, I really don't need a second grandkid, but hey if you're really set on it, shoot for a girl. Girl clothes are so much cuter than boy clothes. And I do love the pink."

"Lorelai please stop."

"Whoa! A 'please' and my name just came out of your mouth, in one sentence. Color me shocked."

"I'm leaving." Jess said putting the picture back.

"Alright leave. Its what you're good at."

Jess shook his head and left the house.

Lorelai looked back at the pictures and arranged them the right way.

-

Jess sat on the bridge, staring at the water. He felt someone tap his shoulder.

He jumped slightly, because he didn't hear to wood creak and didn't expect someone there, "Jeez!" He turned to look at who it was, he saw Will.

"Hello."

"Hi." Jess said shifting.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Jess. What's yours?"

"I'm William. I was named after a hardware store!" Will shouted with a smile.

Jess nodded.

"Who were you named after?" Will asked sitting next to him.

"No one."

"Oh."

Just then Rory ran up to the edge of the bridge, stopping short when she saw Will and Jess talking. She took the chance to listen to them.

"Why did your mommy name you Jess?"

"I don't know."

"Oh. Well do you like your name?"

"Yeah."

"I know someone named Tess. I go to school with her. Tess sounds like Jess."

"I know."

"Can I call you Tess?"

"No."

Rory had to smile.

"I saw to leaving the Dragonfly this morning. You were with Mommy, weren't you?"

"Yes. I was."

"Why were you with her?"

Jess sighed.

"Will." She said stepping onto the bridge, the wood creaking beneath her.

"Mommy!"

"Hey hon. I told you not to run off like that. And I told you not to talk to strangers."

"He isn't a stranger. He's Jess. And you know him. He's not a stranger."

"You're right."

"I win."

She walked over and sat next to Will. "Hey sweet heart why don't you go play over there. I heard there were a few lizards by the tree."

"Okay." Will stood up and ran towards to tree in search of the aforementioned lizards.

"So Tess."

"Jeez. He is way to much like you."

"Maybe, but the you in him comes out sometimes." Rory smiled, looking out at Will. Jess watched her.

"So where's Tony?" Jess asked looking down at the bridge.

"Not here." Rory said moving closer to him.

"So I noticed." He said grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together.

Rory moved to kiss him.

Jess pulled back, "So what happened?"

"What happened with what?"

"With Tony."

"Nothing. I'm gonna tell him tonight."

"And what are you going to tell him?"

"That. I. That I'm not happy. And that I don't think that its right to stay in a relationship where I'm unhappy. And if he doesn't accept that.. I'll tell him about you and then it can all go down Dynasty style." She said smiling.

"Oh. Well as long as you have a plan."

"Which I do." Rory said kissing him again.

"How do you think Will, will react?"

"He'll probably be okay. He's never really liked Tony. He just sort of tolerates him."

Jess kissed her again.

"I think he'll like you. I think he already does, Tess."

"Oh okay, Roni." Jess said kissing her.

They pulled apart as Will ran up to them holding a lizard, "Mommy look what I found!" He said holding it up to show her.

"Oh my god! You actually caught a lizard!" Rory shouted looking disgusted at the creature in her child's hands.

"Can I keep him?"

"Oh honey I don't know."

"Oh come on let him keep it." Jess said.

"Yeah let me keep it." Will plead.

Rory looked at him, "Alright. You can keep him."

"Cool! I'm gonna name him Jess!"

"Oh boy." Jess sighed as Will ran off with the lizard.

"Oh you should feel so special! He named one of his pets after you! He only does that with people he really likes. He named the gold fish Ayn."

"Oh Jeez."

"He named the second gold fish Earnest! And oh the fish that didn't make it.. Charles. Poor Charles. We held a funeral."

"Ayn Rand and Earnest Hemmingway in the same fish tank."

"Yep. Ever think you'd see the day?"

"Nope."

"Oh we also have John the frog."

"John?"

"Bookstore."

"Oh. And I have a question. Will hasn't ever read Ayn Rand or Hemmingway right?"

"Right."

"So how does he know to like them?"

"Cause I like them."

"Really you like Hemmingway. Since when?"

"Since the sixth month of my pregnancy."

Jess nodded.

"So, he really likes me huh?"

"Looks that way." Rory smiled as Will looked at the lizard.

* * *

The disclaimer makes sense now doesn't it! Oh and I'm getting Season three its just late! I should have it thursday so I should be able to have the marathon blowout before I have to go back to school! Yay! Oh please review!

Newtie.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer- I don't own anything, except Will, and Tony.

To all my reviewers- I love you.

Sorry it took so long to get another chapter out there, I've had a nasty case of writer's block and also finals are a bitch, and sorry its short. Or at least shorter. But its a chapter none the less. So here it is.

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**A Different Way**

Will stared at the small lizard he had captured earlier in the day. It was contained in a clear plastic carrier, that now sat on the table in Jess' apartment.

Rory and Jess stood at the sink, talking quietly.

"I have to go meet Tony, in about five minutes."

"Where are you gonna take Will?" Jess asked.

Rory smiled at Jess, "Well I was hoping, that I could leave him here, with you."

"I..." Jess looked at Will then back at Rory, "Okay."

"Really? Oh thank you." She said kissing him quickly.

"Mommy."

"Yeah honey."

"I'm hungry."

"Oh well," Rory started, kneeling down to Will's level, "I have to go, I'm meet Tony tonight. But you're gonna stay with Jess and I'm sure he can make you something to eat. Okay?"

"Okay." Will nodded.

"Okay baby. I gotta go. I'll be back in an hour or two alright."

"Okay."

"Bye honey." rory said kissing Will's forehead. She stood up and started to leave. "Bye Jess."

"Bye Rory. Good luck."

She smiled at him.

-

Rory sat in the gazebo, fiddling with the ring that was on her finger. Tony approached her, a smile on his face.

"Hey."

"Hey." She smiled falsely at him.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." She nodded and stood up.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked him to his car.

-

Jess looked out the kitchen window as Rory climbed into Tony's car. He turned back to Will.

"Alright kid. What do you want to eat?"

"Candy."

"How about Macaroni and Cheese?"

"Okay."

-

Rory had been twisting the ring on her finger, under the table, all during dinner. By the time dessert came her finger was raw.

She finally took it off and placed it on the table.

Tony looked down at the ring and then at Rory.

"Rory, what's going on?"

"I. I'm." She sighed, now realizing how hard this was going to be, "I cant do this anymore."

"What? Do what?"

"For the past three years, you have been there for me. You told me you loved me and I took advantage of it, and I clung to you because I was trying to get over someone else."

Tony looked down, "Jess." He muttered darkly.

"I loved you but not in the way that I should have. I loved you because you loved me. I loved you because you were there for me. It was enough reason then. But now, its not. I cant keep loving you just because you're here. Its selfish and horrible, but I cant do this, because I'm not happy anymore." She couldn't bare to look at him, she wouldn't be able to stand the pain she would see, "I'm sorry Tony." She said before she got up and left.

-

Jess sat on the couch in front of the television watching a cartoon as Will sat on the floor and did the same. Jess started to close his eyes, when Will came up beside him.

"Jess." He tapped on his shoulder.

"Yeah."

"Can you read me a story?"

"Sure. What story?"

Will held up a book with both hands. Jess took it from him.

"Mommy always reads a little bit before I go to bed."

"Alright. Come on." Jess said motioning to the space next to him.

-

Rory couldn't help but crying as she stood out on the side walk. She composed herself enough to call a cab company.

When it got there she started crying again.

"Where can I take you?" The cab driver asked.

"Stars Hollow."

"You okay?" He asked after a few minutes of driving.

"Oh yeah I'm fine." She said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You wanna talk about it. Bar tenders and Cabbies right up there with Therapists."

"I just broke up with my fiancé."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Its a good thing. I shouldn't marry someone I don't love." Rory sighed. "And I cheated on him. With my ex-boyfriend. My ex-boyfriend, who's an author, who's the father of my child."

"You're pregnant?"

"No, my four year old."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and I'm a horrible person and I really hurt him. And he's been a great father to Will. And he's always been there and he's done everything for me. And he owns the apartment where am I gonna live. I didn't think this through, where am I gonna live. Where am I gonna take Will." She started crying again, "Why did he have to get his life together why did John have to give me that book why did he have to come in on Thursday why did we kiss. Why did I sleep with him. Why does Will have to like him." She sighed, "I didn't think any of this through. I didn't make any lists. And I should have. I should have balanced the Pros and the Cons and I should have known that this was not a good idea that it would all end badly. That it would put me and Will out on the street alone." Rory looked down at her empty finger, "I should have just married Tony."

"I don't think that would have been the right thing to do."

"Why not?"

"Because that's obviously not what you want. Or else you wouldn't have broken up with him."

"What does it matter what I want?"

"It matters a lot."

"I know... I know. I know that it matters, but.."

"So what do you want?"

Rory took in a deep breath and closed her eyes before answering, "I want to be with Jess. And I want to move back to Stars Hollow and raise Will there."

"Then make it happen." The man said as the cab stopped at its destination.

* * *

Hey hope you liked it. I'm planning on changing my name to Squeegee Bekinhiem.. Just a little warning, please don't steal the name. 

Newtie.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer- I don't own anything!

To my reviewers- I love you! And I'm sorry it took almost an entire year to put up another chapter. Thank you for your patience.

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**A Different Way**

Rory slowly walked up the stairs that lead to the apartment above the diner. She stopped when she got to the door, she couldn't hear anything. She assumed that Will had fallen asleep and that Jess was just being quiet.

When she walked into the apartment she stopped short and stood speechless as she saw Jess and Will fast asleep on the bed, Jess' arm protectively around Will. She nearly cried.

This is what she had wanted for so long. She kicked off her shoes walked over to the bed and laid down next to Jess.

He stirred, and opened his eyes to Will. He felt someone behind him he turned his head to see Rory just smiling. He moved to kiss her.

"I love you." She said quietly.

"I love you too." He whispered back.

"I'll tell you what happened in the morning." She told him.

He nodded and quickly fell back into his slumber, Rory soon joined him.

-

Tony sat in The Cantina, a bar in a town just east of Stars Hollow. It was nearing closing time and he couldn't go home to an empty house. He twisted the engagement ring in his hand. He stood up when the lights turned on, and stumbled out of the bar, putting the engagement ring in his pocket.

He was in no position to drive, which was obvious as he couldn't find his car; The one he was stabilizing himself on. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. As he tried to dial a four-one-one, for a cab company, he found he couldn't hit the right numbers. He became frustrated and threw his phone against the concrete, it broke into four pieces. He got angrier and took the ring out of his pocket and threw it clear down the road. He sat down on the ground and with his head in his hands, he cried.

-

In the morning Rory and Jess woke up in each others arms.

"Good Morning." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her gently.

"Good Morning." She replied with a smile.

Will abandoned his cartoons, ran over from the couch and jumped on top of the two when he heard them.

"Good Morning!" He shouted.

"Good Morning!" Rory and Jess replied in unison.

"Mommy can we go to the book store today?" Will asked with puppy dog eyes.

Rory looked at Jess, who nodded, before replying with, "Sure sweetie, we can go a in a little while."

"Okay Mommy." He said with a smile before he went back to his cartoons.

-

At the book store Will ran off into the children's section while Rory and Jess sat down. They had already seen everything there was to see in the Stars Hollow Book Store.

Jess turned to Rory and asked, "When are we gonna tell him I'm his father?"

Rory wasn't really expecting the question, and didn't have an answer right away.

"Well?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't know."

"Well do you want to?"

"Want to what?"

"Want to tell him."

"Of course I do."

"Well then when?"

"I don't know when, and I don't know how."

"Well we're gonna have to figure that stuff out if we want to tell him."

"Well I do want to tell him." Rory sighed, "I mean he should know."

"Yeah. He should." Jess said quietly.

"So how are we gonna tell him?"

"I don't know, we just… Will!" Rory said as their son walked in on the conversation.

"Mommy can I get this book?" He asked unaware of the important conversation he walked into.

"Sure sweetie." She responded.

-

Later that night Rory tucked Will into bed at her mother's house, and as soon as she was sure he was asleep she left, on her way to the diner.

She walked up the stairs as quiet as possible, when she got to the top she heard voices. One of them was familiar, the voice of her love, but the other, the voice of a woman, she didn't recognize.

She stopped at the door and listened.

"I don't believe you." Jess' voice was stronger now.

"Well you have to. This isn't just my problem." The female voice spoke.

"How do I know if you're telling the truth?" Jess asked.

"You don't you just have to trust me."

"Well I don't." Jess said.

"Jess! I know that I'm right, you're the only one it could be!" The voice yelled, "This is your responsibility too! We are both guilty here!"

There was silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry, but I cant help you Shane." Rory gasped.

"Jess please."

"If it is mine I don't want it."

"So you want me to get rid of it?"

"Yes." Jess sighed.

Rory stepped back, she felt her heart fall. Jess had slept with Shane and got her pregnant. She ran down the stairs as quietly as she could. She ran all the way to the bridge. When she got there she sat down and cried.

She thought that Will, Jess, and her were going to live happily ever after, and they couldn't do that with Shane's baby. She started thinking that it was a mistake to leave Tony.

She finally stood up after several hours and started walking home. She slept in her old bed and at six thirty in the morning she got Will up and ready, she got all their stuff together loaded Will into the car and wrote her mother a note.

She called an old friend and asked if she could stay with them. At seven o'clock she drove away.

At eight Lorelei woke up and found the note on the kitchen table, and she read..

_Mom, _

_I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly and without warning, but I couldn't stay here in Stars Hollow anymore. I've made a huge mistake and I have no means of fixing it, so I'm starting over somewhere else. When I get situated I'll call you. _

_I love you, _

_Rory_

* * *

Please review and again thank you for your patience. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer- **I don't own anything.

**To The People Who Care Enough To Review- **I LOVE YOU! All of you! cl06, Curley-Q, RBDFAN, petitos grasshoppertje, l0v3hims0, and The REAL Mrs. Milo Ventimiglia

HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER!

* * *

**A Different Way**

Rory arrived back in New Haven around ten o'clock, with Will sleeping in the back seat. She called the person she was going to be staying with temporarily.

"John's Books. John speaking. How may I help you?" John said with several voices in the background.

"Hey. Its Me. I'm here."

"Oh okay. I'll see you when you get in here. Its kind of hellish right now."

"Yeah I can tell the only parking space I could find is a ways down from the bar next door." She told him.

"Yeah, well just come on in and I'll give you the key to the apartment upstairs and you can go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

"Okay. See you in a minute."

"Alright."

Rory hung up, got out of the car, woke Will and got him out of the car, along with a few of their things.

"The bookstore!" Will shouted as realized where they were.

"Yep. We're gonna be staying with Mr. John for a little bit." Rory explained as she took Will's hand and began walking across the cross walk.

Will bent down and grabbed something half way across the street. He showed it to his mother, "Look what I found Mommy!" He said showing it to her with pride.

"Oh wow. A ring." She said taking it. She recognized it as the one she had worn for two years. She checked the inner part of the band for confirmation, and she was sure; as it read _To Rory My Love_.

"Hey baby do you think Mommy could have this?" She asked.

"Okay Mommy. Can I get a book today?" He asked in return.

"Sure sweetie." Rory smiled, though she felt saddened by her son's discovery.

-

Jess got out of bed at eight thirty. Went down to the diner, opened up and started taking orders. He expected Rory and Will in at about nine.

Nine o'clock had come and gone and still no Rory or Will, not even Lorelei or Luke. He tired to let it go, reason it away, they're probably running late, or Luke made them breakfast at home.

Even though there were perfectly good explanations Jess couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong. So he left Caesar in charge and went to the house.

When he got there he saw that Rory's car was gone. He walked to the front door to figure out why.

He knocked on the door and Lorelei answered. Before he could get anything out she was yelling at him.

"What the hell did you do!?" She screamed.

"Whoa! What the hell?" Jess asked confused.

"Don't you 'Whoa! What the hell?' me!" Lorelei fumed, "You did something and I know you did! There is no other reason she would just up and leave like that! Now tell me what did you do you son of a bitch!?"

"Wait she left?! Rory left?! Did she take Will?!" He asked obviously confused and upset.

"Of course she took Will! Do you think that she would abandon **her **son here?" Lorelei said putting extra emphasis on the word 'her'.

Jess just glared at her. "Do you know where she went?" He asked her unusually calm.

"No I don't."

He looked at her oddly, "You're lying. Rory wouldn't just leave without telling you where she was going."

She walked away from the door into the house and out of view, Jess stood there for a second before she came back and threw a piece of paper at him, "This is all I know."

Jess look at the note with the familiar writing on it, he read it out loud, "Mom, I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly and without warning, but I couldn't stay here in Stars Hollow anymore. I've made a huge mistake and I have no means of fixing it, so I'm starting over somewhere else."

He stopped and all he could think was that she thought going back to him was a mistake. There was nothing else it could be. And his heart broke.

He handed Lorelei the note silently, his head down. Lorelei saw how upset he was, and she for some reason felt sorry for him.

He turned around and started to leave, when the sound of Lorelei's voice stopped him, "Hey Jess."

He turned around, "Yeah?"

"Do you want to come inside?"

He saw her olive branch and took it without hesitation.

-

Rory walked into the spare room in John's apartment, she set down her things and turned on some cartoons for Will on the small television on top of the dresser.

"Okay sweetie, once all the cars out there are gone," She said pointing to the window facing the street, "We can go down and pick out a book for you."

"Okay." Will said going to the window, watching when the cars would leave.

By one o'clock in the afternoon most of the cars were gone and Rory decided to take Will downstairs.

"Go ahead and pick something out honey, I'm gonna go talk to Mr. John."

Will ran off to the children's section with out a second thought.

Rory walked towards the front of the store where she found John finishing up with a customer. She waited till he was done then walked up to him.

"Hey John."

"Hey Rory." He smiled at her coming from around the counter, "So what happened?"

They walked slowly through the store as Rory explained the entire situation.

"… And then I found out that he slept with this old girlfriend and she's pregnant and I left and now I'm here." She finished.

"Wow… Well at least he slept with her before you got back together and not during."

"Yeah. I guess. It just kills me, you know, cause now he's connected to her for life, it cant ever be just him and me and Will and any of the other kids we could have, it would be all of us plus Shane and her… and her and Jess' kid. I cant handle that. I really cant. I want him just for me and Will." Rory was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry Rory."

"Its not your fault." She said suppressing her tears.

"Well didn't you say that he didn't want it either?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that matters."

"Well it might."

Rory nodded.

-

"So where's Luke?" Jess asked, as Lorelei poured herself a cup of coffee.

"He's sick, upstairs, sleeping. Do you want anything to drink?" She asked.

"No. I'm okay."

"So what do you think its about?" Lorelei asked as she sat down across the table from Jess.

"That she thinks going back to me was a mistake."

"Yeah. But why?"

"I don't know." He answered head down.

"There is something isn't there?" She asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know how she would know about it, I just found out about it last night." He explained.

"Well what is it?"

He shook his head, "This girl thinks.. My ex…" He rethought his sudden decision to tell Lorelei, but continued anyways, "Shane's pregnant, and she thinks its mine. But I don't believe her she's a slut, it could be any guy in Connecticut, and we used a condom." He started explaining. "I don't want it to be mine, I want to be with Rory and Will, and I want to marry her and have a family with her, and I cant do that with Shane and this kid." He paused, "I'm scared." He said closing his eyes as tears slipped down his cheeks.

"I know." Lorelei said feeling heart broken for him.

Lorelei's cell phone rang. "Its Rory." She told Jess before answering.

"Hey sweetie. What happened?" She asked immediately.

"Last night I went to the diner and I over heard Shane telling Jess that she was pregnant. I left because I broke up with Tony to be with him and I cant be with him with Shane and her baby around. I just cant. So yeah, that's why I left."

"Oh wow." Lorelei said softly.

"Why are you not extremely pissed off at Jess? This isn't normal."

"I know. Well maybe you should talk to him."

"What? Mom are you okay?"

"Yeah, honey, just talk to him." She said before handing Jess the phone.

"Rory?" He asked his voice shaky.

"Jess…" She said before hanging up the phone.

He closed the phone and handed it back to Lorelei.

"Thanks for talking to me. Or thanks for listening. There are some things I have to take care of."

"Okay." Lorelei nodded, "Jess if you ever need to talk, I'm here. Okay?"

"Yeah." He said before leaving.

-

"Shane I'm sorry but I really don't think that its mine. If you keep it, when it comes out we can get a blood test, but until you prove that its mine, its not."

As soon as Jess hung up the phone he started packing.

He bought a plane ticket and headed to California.

* * *

Please Review. Anything you have to say I want to hear. 

Love Ya! And Thanks For Reading.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer-I don't own anything.

I Love My Reviews! Please keep it up!

Sorry it took so long to get another chapter up.

But here it is!

* * *

**A Different Way**

Jess had decided to move out of Stars Hollow and back to California.

Lorelei was on her way to talk to Jess, in the few weeks that Rory had been out of Jess' life they seemed to have bonded, Lorelei quickly became someone that Jess could talk to.

When she made it to the apartment she found boxes everywhere. She walked further into the apartment and found Jess.

"What's with all the boxes?" She asked.

"I'm moving." He told her simply. "I cant stay in this town anymore. Everything here just reminds me of what I lost."

"So you're moving to New York?"

"No, I'm going back to California. I've got an apartment lined up and the last step is to get everything sent over there. And then I'm moved."

"So where in your moving process were you planning on telling Luke and I?"

"Right now. I suspect by telling you I've already told Luke."

"Well yeah."

"So there all my ends are tied. The moving truck is coming out tomorrow. I'll be gone before dinner."

"So you're just gonna leave just like that?"

"Yeah, I mean there isn't any reason for me to stay anymore."

"Yeah. I guess." Lorelei said sadly.

"Well I should be getting down to the diner, lots of hungry people wanting food." Jess said before leaving the apartment.

Lorelei just stood there looking at the numerous boxes, shaking her head.

-

In three weeks Rory had gotten a job offer to write for the New York Times, she moved out of John's and into a nice apartment in New York.

With all the stress of starting a job with TNYT she had no time to think about anything else, she liked that.

She clung to her wonderful distraction lovingly, until her world came crashing down for a second time.

-

Jess got a job at a small publishing company in Malibu, he didn't mind his job, all he had to do was edit wanna-be books all day. He spent all of his free time at the beach, he used the time to work on his second book. He would sit out in the sand for hours just writing, sometimes his mind would wander, he would think about Rory, and Will, and about how much he missed them.

-

Rory went about her life as usual, even though her insides hurt with an overwhelming feeling of sadness.

She had gotten severely depressed when she found out that she was pregnant. She hadn't called her mother in over two months, and she kept Will at day care for as long as possible. Most of the time so he wouldn't see her crying.

Once again she started questioning whether or not she wanted to tell Jess. She started questioning whether or not she wanted to have this baby at all. The thought of having to have this baby all by herself killed her, but the thought of getting rid of it hurt even more.

She needed to talk to her mother, but she was afraid. The last time she needed to talk to her mother Lorelei handed the phone to Jess, something she never thought she would do. She didn't want to talk to Jess, and she didn't want her mother to defend him, all she wanted was to run away from everything, pack up her stuff and hit the road. So that's what she did.

She grabbed her suit cases and started packing everything she thought she would need, she packed everything. She went to Will's room grabbed his clothes and threw them in his duffle bag.

When she was satisfied with the amount of books and clothing she had packed, she loaded it all into the car, locked up the apartment and drove to Will's day care center.

She picked up Will from daycare and continued on her journey.

As she was merging onto the 95 Will asked, "Mama? Where are we going?".

She looked in her rear view mirror quickly, "California." she decided, "We're going to California, we're gonna see the beach."

"Really?" He asked excitedly.

"Yep." She smiled.

-

Lorelei dialed Rory's number for the fifth millionth time in the last two months. Every time she called Rory never answered, but she kept calling hoping that eventually she would pick up the phone.

-

Rory pulled off the 44, after checking her map she decided to stop in Oklahoma City, she figured she could find a hotel and give Will a bed to sleep in tonight. She was hoping she could make the rest of the journey tomorrow. She glanced back at Will sleeping, holding tightly to his teddy bear, she smiled.

Her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled into the first hotel she saw, conveniently located just off the freeway.

She answered the phone quietly, "Hello?"

"Rory, oh my god, you answered. Honey where have you been?" Lorelei asked relief rushing over her; She answered the phone.

"I've been grieving. I've been moving on."

"Oh baby. Where are you?"

Rory looked around, "I'm at the Sunrise Hotel," she paused for what seemed like forever, "In Oklahoma."

"What?! You're in Oklahoma?! Why are you in Oklahoma?!" Lorelei asked confused.

"I needed to get away from New York. I just needed to get away from everything. I got a few weeks off of work, and I'm just going. I just couldn't sit still anymore." She sighed.

"Where are you working?" Lorelei asked, not having talked to her daughter in two months, she had missed a lot.

"Oh," Rory immediately felt terrible for shutting out her mother for so long, "I'm working at the New York Times."

"Oh my god! You're kidding? Oh baby! I'm so proud of you." Lorelei beamed.

"Yeah. I'm sorry mom." Rory choked.

"I know."

"I have to get a room. I'm exhausted and I want Will to get a good nights sleep, so I'm gonna get going. Can I call you tomorrow before I leave?" She asked.

"Sure sweetie, give Will a kiss for me, and tomorrow you tell me where you're going."

"I will. Love you mom."

"Love you too baby."

They both hung up. Rory got Will out of the back seat and walked to the hotel carrying him on her hip, her bag slung over her shoulder. She got a room and settled in for the night.

Will hardly woke up during the transition, as Rory watched him sleep she realized how much she wanted the child growing inside of her. She realized how much she already loved it.

* * *

If you notice any continuity issues I'm sorry. Please point them out and I'll fix them. D 3 


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer- ** I don't own anything.

**Reviewers- _gottalovethegilmores_**, **_Literati and naley forever_**, **_RBDFAN_**, **_megliz716_**, **_Curley-Q_**, **_lachopedreams_**, and **_K-Marie-M_**. Thank you all! Kisses for you!

**_And_  
**

**I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THIS CHAPTER**

* * *

A Different Way

"Why isn't it filling up?"

"I don't know. I've already put five quarts in there. It should be almost full."

"Yeah I know. But its not."

There was a long pause, "Aw shit! There's oil everywhere!"

"What?!"

"Look!"

One of the two men bent over suddenly and picked something up off the ground, "We forgot to put the drain plug back on once we changed the filter."

Both men got down on the ground and watched as the last of the black liquid dripped out of the car.

"Well now what do we do?" One of them asked.

"We get more oil." The other responded.

Rory turned onto Romar street in a small town called Chatsworth, She made it half way down the street before her car's engine sputtered to a stop and started smoking. She pulled off to the side, with her car's momentum, and looked around. She saw two men lying on the ground behind a green twinkie. She decided to ask the them for help.

"Mommy? Are we at the beach?" Will asked excitedly from the back seat.

"No not yet." She sighed. "There's something wrong with the car. Come on we have to get someone to help us."

Rory stepped out of the car, got Will and started walking towards the two men who had now stood up and started wiping their hands that were covered in oil.

"Who's this? One of the men asked the other.

"I don't know."

"Hi. I'm sorry to interrupt, but my car just broke down and I don't have anyone to call. I'm from out of town." Rory spoke after coming to stand in front of the two. Will shyly stood behind his mother's leg.

"Oh well that sucks. We could probably help you."

"That would be great." Rory smiled, "Oh I'm Rory, by the way, and this is Will, my son."

"I'm Robert." The first man introduced himself followed by the second.

"And I'm Tim."

"If you want you're son can play inside, I have a daughter about his age."

"Oh that would be great." Rory turned to Will, "Honey do you want to go inside and play with Mr. Robert's daughter?"

Will nodded slowly.

"Great, come on inside." Robert said motioning to the house.

Once Will was inside and having fun with Susan, Robert's daughter, Rory, Tim, and Robert walked out towards Rory's car.

"So do you have any idea what the problem is?" Tim asked as Rory popped the hood.

-

"I'm sorry Rory, but it looks like there's nothing we can do." Tim said as he wiped his hands on an old rag, that he tossed to Robert.

"It looks like it overheated. Sorry but you're not going anywhere anytime soon." Robert told her as they stood on the side of the road.

"Shit!" Rory yelled loudly. She kicked the side of her car and yelled again, "Fuck! God dam it!"

Tim and Robert stood silently as Rory screamed, when she started to cry they didn't know what to do with themselves.

A beautiful girl with bright green eyes and dark red hair walked out of the house and towards the three people in the road.

"Nat, good." Robert greeted her.

"You have to help her, she's having a mental break down." Tim explained.

Natalie approached Rory slowly, "Hi, I'm Natalie. Do you want a cup of coffee?"

Rory nodded her head slowly; of all the things she wanted right now, coffee was definitely at the top of the list.

-

The two girls made their way into the kitchen, Natalie started a pot of coffee. She grabbed two cups and filled them with room for cream.

She brought the cups over and grabbed the creamer from the fridge before she sat down.

"So where did you come in from?"

"I'm from a small town in Connecticut, but I drove here from New York."

"Wow, I've always wanted to see New York." Natalie said with a smile, "So why'd you drive all the way out here?"

"To get away." Rory answered taking a quick sip from her cup.

"What are you running away from?"

"My life. My ex. His baby. My baby." She started crying, "I'm pregnant with his baby, again and I don't know what to do."

"You're pregnant?"

"Yes. Again. And I'm alone and I'm scared." She cried, "All I wanted to do was go away. I wanted to show Will the beach, but now I cant even do that."

"Yes you can. You can still show your son the beach. We can take you. We have a car. We have a twinkie. What better way to see the beach than in a surf wagon?" Natalie smiled. "We could go to the beach, then dropped Will and Susan off at this really great free play-care center and then go out and have a good time just the adults. When was the last time you just went out and had fun for yourself? What do you say?"

"That sounds like fun." Rory spoke.

"Great!"

-

"We're here!" Robert shouted as they parked.

Will immediately jumped out of the van while Rory climbed out slowly. Natalie came to stand next to her.

"So this is the beach." She sighed.

Natalie put her arm around Rory's shoulders, "This is the beach."

Rory smiled, "Its beautiful."

-

After three hours of playing in the water and building sand castles everyone cleaned off and got back into the van.

"My sister owns the place. She's great with kids. It's a great place. I'm sure he'll have fun." Natalie spoke as they pulled up to the front of a pale yellow house that had a sign with the words '**Play Care Center**' in rainbow colors.

They dropped Will and Susan off and headed out for a good time.

-

"So where are we going?" Rory asked.

"My friends place." Robert responded.

"We hang out there all the time, he's got a place by the beach, great for parties." Tim explained.

"Cool." Rory paused, "So what do you guys do for fun?"

The three other people in the car glanced back and forth at each other before Tim pulled out a bag, filled with a green plant substance, and said, "This is what we do for fun."

* * *

**I apologize again for this chapter.**

This was written for my boyfriend and my friend who wanted to be in the story, this was just to appease them. I promise the next chapter will have Lorelei and most importantly Jess. Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer- ** I don't own anything.

**Reviewers- _Literati and naley forever, Curley-Q, Sagebeth, ilovejessssss, CharliLee, kaypgirl, xLouderNow rjx, RBDFAN, artisticgirl89, K-Marie-M, gnrkrystle, Kylie1403. Thank you all! I love you.  
_**

* * *

A Different Way

Lorelei sat in Luke's diner staring down at her full cup of coffee.

"Lorelei?" Luke asked coming to stand next to her, "Is everything okay?"

"No. Everything is not okay. Rory said she would call me today, and she hasn't. The last time I talked to her she was somewhere in Utah. And she still hasn't told me where she's going and why."

Luke sat down next to her, "Lets just hope she's not going to California."

Lorelei looked up, "Do you think she's looking for him?"

Luke shook his head in the negative, "She didn't know where he was going."

"So its just some freaky coincidence that Rory is driving to California, the same California that Jess ran off to not too long ago."

"We don't even know if she's going to California. She could be going to Nevada."

"The only reason people go to Nevada is to gamble. She's got Will with her, I don't think she's going to Nevada."

"Well she could have stopped in Utah."

"For what? To look at the polygamists?"

"Or maybe she's going to Colorado."

"What's so great about Colorado? Face it Luke she's going to California."

"Is there anyway that you will agree with anything I say?"

"Nope."

"Alright. I give up." He surrendered.

"Ha… I feel better now." Lorelei smiled as she took a sip from her cup.

-

Twenty minutes later the green bus pulled up in front of a large black house, located directly on the beach. As the doors opened thick white smoke poured out of the van followed by Rory, Natalie, Robert and Tim.

"Wow…." Rory spoke in a far off voice as she gazed wide-eyed at the large, slightly ominous house.

"It's amazing, isn't it." Natalie came to stand next to her, "Wait till you see the inside." She laughed as they walked towards the front door.

They made their way into the house, being immediately greeted by a full view of the ocean.

"Oh my god. This place is incredible." Rory said slowly, "In-cre-di-ble… In-cre-di-ble…. Funny word… Incredible." Rory laughed quickly, letting a snort escape from the back of her throat.

"Everyone is probably downstairs on the beach. Come on." Robert motioned for the three to follow him as he made his way towards the stairs.

Once they were on the beach the four of them were greeted by a couple dozen people and the promise of more people to come.

"Hey I'm going to go find the booze." Robert said winking at Natalie and Rory.

"And I'm gonna go find Jess." Tim spoke before walking away.

"Jess? Jess who?" Rory asked quickly..

"Jess Mariano. The owner of this house." Natalie clarified.

"That's impossible… How is that possible."

"What's impossible?"

"Jess. Here. I came here to get farther away from him and this entire time I've been headed directly for him."

"You and Jess were…" Natalie spoke in a questioning tone.

"Yeah. We were….. We were together, then not together, then we were, then he got some girl pregnant and I ran away from it all. And now here I am.. Standing on Jess' private beach!"

At that moment Robert had returned holding four beers, he offered one to Rory and she gladly took the bottle. She didn't care anymore.

-

An hour, and four drinks later….

"Hey guys.. Guys.. Guys.. I have to pee." Rory laughed at herself, she couldn't remember the last time she had gotten this wasted.

"Do you need help?" Natalie giggled slightly as Rory tried to make her way off the sand.

"No I'm okay. I can do it. I'm okay." She slurred.

-

Natalie stumbled over every other step as she made her way into the house. She spotted Jess and laughed as she walked up to him.

"Hi Jess." She said getting closer and closer by the second.

"Hey Nat."

"This is a really great party babe. Its only been an hour and I'm already drunk." She smiled before leaning up and kissing him hard on the lips.

Jess hesitated briefly but began to return the kiss.

-

Rory washed her hands and stumbled her way out of the bathroom. Watching her steps carefully, she made her way into the ocean view living room. She glanced up from the floor just in time to see Jess pulling Natalie towards him in a heated kiss.

Rory gasped quietly, a look of anger, sadness, and disgust passed over her face before she turned and left the room silently.

-

"Wait... Mmm… Wait… Stop… Nat…" Jess spoke between kisses, "We. Have. To. Stop. Stop." He gently pushed her away, "We cant do this."

"I don't know what I was thinking."

"You're with Robert."

"I know."

"I'm his best friend."

"I know that too."

"And you cant do that to Susan. You're like a mother to her."

"Face it, the only reason you stopped me is because you're not over Rory." She said coolly.

He looked at her confused, he had never told her about Rory. He brushed it off, "You should go find Robert."

"Yeah I should… I'll talk to you later Jess."

"See you later Natalie." He said before walking away.

-

"Robert." Rory spoke as she approached him.

"Yeah?" He slurred out just before Rory started kissing him.

They made out for a while before Rory grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the stairs.

-

"Hey Tim." Jess spoke slowly, slurring his words.

"Hey buddy." Tim drawled out in a high pitched airy voiced, "How are you?! How many beers have you had?"

"I'm good, and uh.. Eight." He laughed, "Hey, I got a question for you."

"Oh yeah? Well go ahead and ask it man."

"I never told you guys much about my ex, I never even told you her name."

"True."

"So how does Natalie know?"

"Know what?"

"Know her name."

"Who's name?"

"Rory's name."

"Wait, you know Rory?"

"What?"

"Rory, the girl who broke down in front of the house today." Tim explained.

"Brown hair, blue eyes?"

"Yeah that's her. You want to meet her, she's here."

"She's here?"

"Yeah, last I saw she went upstairs with Robert."

"I'll be back." Was all he said before bolting up the stairs.

* * *

_I'm not a fan but let me know what you think-_


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer- ** I don't own anything.

**Reviewers-_Literati and naley forever__, RBDFAN, allycat1186, Kylie1403, brenda, nk-number1actress, _****_Curley-Q, and Regan.  
_**

_**I DO KNOW THAT DRINKING ALCOHOL WHILE PREGNANT IS A BAD, BAD THING!**_

_**I know what Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is, in fact my boyfriend and his brother were both affected by it. Neither of them have any grandiose physical ailments, in fact they're both pretty fucking smart. I know that Rory drinking while she's pregnant is a bad thing, and something she normally wouldn't do, but she didn't care.  
**_

* * *

A Different Way

"Where are we going?" Robert asked as Rory pulled him towards the front door.

"Away from here!" She said laughing. "You know I saw your girlfriend making out with my ex-boyfriend. Isn't that funny? I think so." Rory spoke as they wobbled down the narrow street.

"Well I can't really be mad at her, I did kiss you."

"You should know that the only reason I kissed you is because she kissed my Jess. My Jess, he's not even my Jess anymore. He's just Jess! The father of my children!" Rory let a snort escape as she laughed hysterically.

"Children? You have more than one? And Jess is the father?" Robert asked, his voice soaked in confusion.

"I'm a terrible person."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. I got high! I got drunk!"

"That doesn't make you a terrible person."

"Yes it does! I'm pregnant and that's why it makes me a terrible person!"

"Oh." Was all Robert could get out before Rory began to speak again.

"I don't want this baby!" She cried. "I don't want this baby without him. I need him. I cant do it again, not by myself."

"Rory?!" Jess yelled running towards the pair.

"Jess?"

"Rory what are you doing here?"

"You guys should probably talk. I'll be over there." Robert excused himself awkwardly before stumbling away.

Jess never took his eyes off of Rory, "Rory, what are you doing in California, where's Will?"

"I wanted to see the ocean. That's why I'm here, Will is with Susan at that place." She plopped herself down on a small brick wall.

"The daycare?"

"Yes the daycare. I drove here, you know, all the way from New York, my car broke down out side of your friends' house. How does that happen? I mean what are the chances?"

"Very small I assume."

"Yeah, but not small enough. I was trying to get away from you, ha, little did I know I was already three thousand miles away from you. I should have stayed in New York. No! I should have gone home! I should be with my mother! Not drinking on the beach while I'm-!" She stopped suddenly realizing what she was saying.

"While you're what?" Jess asked stepping closer to her.

"Just forget it." She shook her head, "I need to go home, I need my mom."

"Then we'll get you home." Jess spoke softly, "You can spend the night here if you need to. There's enough room, for you and for Will."

"Thank you." She said through tears.

-

The party ended earlier than expected when a guy named David threw up all over everyone after he did a keg stand for a whole minute.

Once everyone left and Jess sobered up he offered to drive Rory to the daycare center to pick up Will.

The drive there was silent, neither Jess nor Rory knew what to say, they both had so many questions, and they were both terrified of each others' answers.

Once Will was in the car it wasn't very quiet anymore. After all, a lot had happened in the month since he'd seen Jess, and Will needed to tell him about everything that happened in those thirty days.

Once they were back at the house Rory went upstairs and locked herself in one of the three spare bedrooms, she let Jess take care of Will.

-

"Hello?"

"Jess?" A female voice spoke over the line.

"Hey Lorelei."

"Wow. Long time no talk."

"Yeah. I'm sorry to call so late but its kind of important."

"Are you okay?" She asked quickly.

"Yeah I'm fine, its about Rory." He sighed.

"Oh yeah what about Rory?"

"She's here, with me, she drove down here from New York, something's going on and I don't know what."

"I know, well I mean I don't know what's going on, but I knew she was driving."

"She told me she needs you. I got her and Will plane tickets from LAX to Hartford International, the flight should be landing in Hartford at about three."

"Great. I'll be there."

"Good. Call me tomorrow once you've talked to her. I don't need to know details just that she's okay."

"Cause she will be okay."

"Good. I'll talk to you later."

"Hey wait, Jess are you okay?"

He sighed deeply, "Yeah."

"Liar."

"Yeah. But I will be."

"Good. And remember if you need to talk I'm available."

"Thanks Lorelei. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

-

Rory woke up at six in the morning and immediately flew out of bed towards the bathroom.

Jess heard her footsteps from his room and came to stand outside of the bathroom door. He knocked softly, "Rory? Are you okay?" He said as he pushed the door open slightly.

He found Rory kneeling on the tile floor leaning over the toilet, "Hang over?" He asked in a quiet tone.

"I guess." She said standing up and flushing the toilet. She moved to the sink and splashed her face with water and rinsed out her mouth. She turned around to face Jess, "Thanks for taking care of Will last night."

"Not a problem… Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"I've missed you." His voice barely audible.

She nodded, "Do you have anything to eat?" She had, obviously, missed him, but she didn't want to tell him that, that would make her vulnerable. She couldn't be vulnerable around him.

"Yeah, I'll be downstairs, come down when you're ready." He said before walking away.

-

"I got you and Will plane tickets. I figured I could drive you, we'll have to leave at eleven."

"That sounds good." Rory said as she pushed the last of her scrambled eggs around her plate.

-

Rory and Will were about to board the plane, Jess knelt down to say goodbye to Will.

"I've got a surprise for you," Jess pulled a book out of his back pocket and handed it to him.

"Cool!" Will smiled as he took the book from him. Jess began to stand up when Will threw his arms around Jess' shoulders. Jess smiled, but his heart broke, and so did Rory's as she watched Jess wrap his arms around his son.

Once Jess stood up and Will was no longer paying attention, enthralled in his new book, he asked the question he had been waiting to ask for a month, "Why did you leave?"

Rory sighed, "Because I made a mistake."

"Breaking up with Tony and being with me was a mistake?!"

"Yes!"

Jess looked shocked, he didn't understand how she could think that.

"It was a mistake because you got Shane pregnant! I broke up with Tony to be with you and you got Shane pregnant and we cannot be a family with her and her baby!" She paused briefly, "We have to go. Come on Will." She grabbed her son's hand and walked onto the plane.

Jess stood motionless, there was nothing he could even think to do.

* * *

_This story is coming to an end. There's probably a few chapters left_. _Sorry if I've disappointed anyone._


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer- I own nothing.

Please review! Thanks to those of you who do- Literati and naley forever, RBDFAN, Regan, ilovejessssss, Curley-Q, gnrkrystle, contygoldbarg, and cmtaylor531.

* * *

A Different Way

When Rory and Will walked off the plane at Hartford International the first thing they heard was an excited yell from Lorelei.

Rory turned to her mother and smiled back at her, so glad that she was home.

Will quickly wiggled his hand away from Rory's and ran towards his Grandmother, "Gramma!"

"Baby! Oh I've missed you so much!" Lorelei said kneeling down and grabbing Will into a bear hug.

"I missed you too! I saw the beach Gramma!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Really! You saw the beach!" She said as she stood up.

"We sure did." Rory said standing next to her mother.

Lorelei smiled at her daughter and grabbed her into a hug, she could tell Rory needed her a lot right now. Lorelei pulled away after a few moments and asked Will, "Did you go in the water?"

"Yeah! And we built a sand castle! It was as tall as me Gramma!" He said as Lorelei took a hold of Will's hand, the three of them started walking out of the airport.

-

"It's so good to be home," Rory spoke, the only words she had said since they got in the car, as they drove through town towards her childhood home, "I don't want to leave here for at least a year! I've missed this town, its simple, its beautiful, and I love it."

"I know, why do you think your amazing mother chose this wonderful little town as the place to make her nest? Hmm?"

"What are you a bird?" Will asked from the back seat.

"Well yes I am! Cant you see my wings?" Lorelei made him laugh.

"No." He giggled.

"So who wants to have a movie night?" Lorelei asked knowing Will would fall asleep fast giving her and Rory time to talk.

"Me! Can I pick the movie?" Will asked.

"Sure!" Lorelei smiled, "So what's it gonna be?"

"Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory!" He smiled.

"Ah! Good choice!"

-

Right after Violet is turned into a giant blueberry Will is fast asleep on the couch. Rory and Lorelei moved to the kitchen. Rory sat down at the table while Lorelei started making a pot of coffee, her back towards Rory.

"Mom?" She said in a small voice.

"Yeah honey?" She asked turning to face Rory.

"I got high." Rory said with her head down.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And I got drunk."

"Well either one cant be what's making you look like someone just killed your dog. So what's going on?"

"Mom… I'm gonna have a baby." Rory said her voice giving away her silent tears.

Lorelei dropped the empty cup she had been holding, "Are you sure?"

Rory just nodded.

"Oh boy." Lorelei sighed as she sat down next to Rory. She hugged her daughter tight, pulling away she asked, "Is it Jess'."

"I don't know." She lied.

"So what do you want to do?" Lorelei asked.

Rory thought about this question very hard, "I don't want Jess in my life, and I don't want Tony to be either."

"So we're gonna do this again?"

"Yeah, I guess.. I'm sorry mom."

"For what? Plenty of women are single mothers, I was one and look how great I am."

"Yeah, you are great." Rory sighed, "Mom.. I'm so stupid."

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am! I drank, and I'm pregnant!" Rory cried.

"Oh honey. We'll go to the doctors tomorrow and make sure everything is okay."

"I might have hurt her."

Lorelei noticed Rory's use of the pronoun, "You think it's a girl?"

"I hope it's a girl." Rory sniffled.

"Me too." Lorelei smiled holding her daughter.

"Mom?"

"Yeah sweets?"

"You really are the greatest person I know."

"Yeah, I know." Lorelei patted Rory's back.

-

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah."

"Is she okay?"

"She will be."

"Do you think she'll talk to me anytime soon?"

Lorelei sighed, "Look, Jess, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Rory told me she doesn't want you in her life… I'm sorry."

The line was silent.

"Look, this doesn't mean that you're gonna be cut off from Will. I'll make sure-"

"It doesn't matter Lorelei. If she doesn't want me in her life, she's not gonna let me in Will's life."

"Hey, now, wait a minute."

"Just make sure he knows who I am, and that I love him. Tell him the truth for me."

She was quiet for a moment, "I will."

"Thanks Lorelei." She could hear his brokenness in his voice.

"I'm sorry Jess."

"Yeah me too. Bye."

"Bye." Lorelei heard the line go dead.

-

_Flash Forward April 13, 2029_

_Stars Hollow _

"_Mom?!" _

"_What?! What's wrong Lori?!" _

"_Mommy, I'm going crazy! I cant even look at this anymore!" The young girl with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair said throwing down her Chemistry book down._

"_Oh I know honey. Mr. Gross giving you a ton of work?" _

"_Yes." Lori said letting her head fall to the desk top, "And I've been working on this stupid article for The Franklin, and it is taking up all of my time! I barely finish my homework every night." _

"_Yeah, that's pretty much how Chilton works babe. Its getting you ready for college, I honestly don't know what I would have done if I didn't go to Chilton, I definitely wouldn't have gotten into Yale, that's for sure."_

"_Yes, I know all of this hard work will one day pay off and I will be as wonderful and successful as my beautiful mother. I'm just waiting for that day." Lori laughed._

"_Well you only have, what, three months left until you graduate? It'll be over soon." _

"_Well I certainly hope so." She said lifting her head up, "Is Will coming home for the weekend?" _

"_Yep. Gramma and Grandpa are coming over for diner tonight." _

"_Good."_

"_Mom? Lori? Anybody?" A definite male voice broke through the house. _

"_Will!" Lori jumped up and ran to the front door. _

_Rory followed behind coming down the stairs just in time to see Lori jump into her big brother's arms. _

"_I missed you! Chilton sucks! How's Medical School?" _

"_I missed you too! School is great I get to poke at disgusting things all day long. Chilton has always sucked, I warned you of that. And I cannot believe that you're graduating in three months! You're only a baby!" He said squeezing his baby sister. _

"_Uh, hello? Giver of life standing right here and not getting any love from her son that she never ever sees because he transferred to Harvard, which is so much farther away than Yale." _

"_Mom. I missed you too." He hugged his mother and she kissed his forehead._

"_You do know I wanted you to go to Harvard, they have a better medical program and if you're gonna be a doctor you better be good mister!" _

"_Yeah, I know mom. So where's the food?" Will asked walking into the kitchen._

"_Food? What food?" Lori asked. _

"_What is this food you speak off?" Rory asked._

_Will opened the cupboards and grabbed coffee, three cups, a bag of chips, and a bag of marshmallows. _

_There was a knock at the front door, all three of them turned their heads towards the sound. Will set down the coffee grounds and walked to the door, with his mother and sister following behind him. _

_He opened the front door to see a man no older than 45 staring at him. _

"_Will?" The man questioned. _

"_Yeah?" Will stared at the brown eyed man in front of him._

"_I'm Jess Mariano, you're father." _

_And Will slammed the door in his face._

* * *

_PLEASE REVIEW _


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**- I don't own **anything**.

**Thank you Reviewers!****_ allycat1186, Literati and naley forever, RBDFAN, Kylie1403, K-Marie-M, and contygoldbarg._**

* * *

A Different Way

_**Flash Back May 26, 2015**_

_**Hartford **_

_**Luke stepped out of the mid-sized family car, while Lorelei got Samson out of the back seat, he looked around the driveway. "I thought she said to be here at seven o'clock. It's seven and they're not here." **_

"_**Well, I don't know what to tell you, Lori's probably having, or had, another sock melt down. She's probably trying to get her to just put her socks on right now. It could take a whole hour to calm her down enough, or at least find the right pair of socks, cause god knows if the socks don't fit her right she's a devil child. Oh, they're here." Lorelei spoke as she held Sam's hand. **_

_**Will climbed out of the car, "Hey Gramma, hey Grandpa. Hi Samson." he said going to give them each a hug. **_

"_**Hey champ." Luke smiled at his grandson. **_

"_**Hey hon. So ten years old huh? You feel old?" Lorelei asked kissing him on the forehead. **_

"_**I feel like I did on the twenty-fifth." He answered shortly. "Nothing special."**_

"_**Well today is special! It's you're tenth birthday, double digits. That's special." **_

"_**Yeah I guess." He said with an unusually sad face for a kid on his birthday. **_

"_**Mom! Dad!" Rory said walking towards the two of them as Lori ran ahead to latch onto Luke's legs. **_

"_**Grandpa!" She shouted. **_

"_**Lori! How's my little angel?" He asked picking her up and holding her in his arms.**_

"_**I'm not wearing socks!" She giggled. **_

_**Lorelei laughed, "When we find the right socks we need to buy all of them, not just two packs, all of them." **_

"_**From now on that is the plan, trust me." Rory sighed. **_

_**Once inside the party was on, it only came to a crashing halt when the door bell rang. **_

_**The people occupying the room glanced around at each other. They all sat in silence as the maid answered the door. **_

_**The maid walked in and proceeded to tell them that there was a Mr. Jess Mariano at the door, and all the adults stiffened. **_

_**Rory stood quickly and walked to the door without a word to anyone. **_

_**-**_

"_**What are you doing here?" Rory asked dumbfounded. **_

"_**What am I doing here? Rory, what kind of a question is that? I'm here to see my son." **_

"_**Why now?!" She shouted as she walked further away from the house.**_

"_**Because you've kept me out of his life for long enough! He's my son! I don't care what you say, I love him more than anything in this world! And I'm here for his birthday." Jess spoke as he followed her.**_

"_**No! Jess, no. You are not allowed to be here. Its not your place anymore. I don't need you, Will doesn't need you. We do fine on our own, thank you. So just leave, you're not welcome here!" She ended. **_

"_**So that's it? I don't have a son now? Just forget about it? Forget about him? I don't think so Rory. It doesn't work like that." **_

"_**Oh yes it does! It does when I'm his mother and I'm the one that has been taking care of him since day one!"**_

"_**If you had bothered to tell me that I even had a son I would have been there! I would have taken care of you and Will from the start! So don't pull that shit on me Rory! Don't you dare!"**_

"_**Well what about when you found out? Huh Jess? What got in the way from you being a father then?!" **_

"_**Rory! You know I wanted to be there for him! You know I wanted to be with you and with Will! You were the one that ran away! So don't tell me that you're keeping him from me now after you screwed up six years ago!" **_

"_**No! I'm keeping him from you now because it took you six years to do something about it!" **_

"_**Well maybe I would have come back if you would let me! I would have been here! Every birthday, every holiday, no matter what! But you just have to keep me away from him!" Jess shook his head, "And do you know what kills me the most? You not telling me about Lori." **_

_**Rory looked shocked, "What-" **_

"_**She's mine too, Rory. You know it, and so do I. You kept her from me just like you did with Will! What gives you the right to do that? Huh, Rory? What gives you the right to decide that I don't need to know about my kids?!" Jess fumed.**_

"_**I'm their mother!" Rory screamed.**_

"_**I'm their father!" Jess responded equally loud. **_

_**The front door opened and both of them, with flushed faces, turned toward the house to see Will standing there staring at them.**_

"_**Will." Jess said quietly staring at him, holding back tears. **_

"_**Mom? We're about to have cake." He said in a small voice, after hearing the end of their conversation. **_

"_**Okay, thanks I'll be there in a minute." Rory said sweetly. **_

"_**Okay." He said closing the door. **_

_**Rory turned back to Jess, "Go home. Get away from here." She spat bitterly.**_

"_**I wish you weren't such a bitch." He spoke softer, realizing he was never going to win this battle. **_

"_**Goodbye Jess." Rory said curtly.**_

_**Jess let out a humorless chuckle, "Bye Rory." **_

_**-**_

_**Will sat in the window of the mansion staring down, as the man he knew as his father walked to his car and drove away. **_

_**- **_

"_**Mom?" Will asked softly, trying not to wake his sister, from the passenger seat**_

"_**Yeah babe?"**_

"_**Why doesn't he want me?" Will said with tears in his eyes.**_

_**Rory felt her heart break, "I don't know." Was all she could say.**_

_**-**_

_**Lorelei and Luke pulled into the driveway to see a familiar car there. They walked into the house to find Jess sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands. **_

"_**Jess, honey?" Lorelei asked softly as Luke took Samson to his room. **_

_**He looked up at her with tears running down his face, "She just wont let me in." **_

"_**Oh, hon." She said hugging him, "I'm sorry." **_

"_**Give this to Will, for me, will you?" He asked handing her an envelope, and a small, wrapped present. "And keep telling him I love him. And Lori." He said wiping his face and standing up. **_

"_**You leaving?" **_

_**He nodded. **_

"_**For how long?" **_

_**He shrugged. **_

_**-**_

_**Will found a small present and an envelope on his bed the next day, after getting home from school. He put down his back pack and came to sit on his bed. He grabbed the present and slowly started to unwrap it. **_

_**It was a book. A grey book, with a silhouette of a lizard on the cover. "Will." He spoke the title out loud. "By Jess Mariano." He read the small red print at the bottom of the page. **_

_**He grabbed the envelope and tore it open. It was a simple birthday card, signed at the bottom: With All The Love In the World, Your Father**_

_**Will threw the card down, "If you love me so much, why did you leave?!" He shouted to an empty house. He took the book and threw it across the room before laying down on his bed and staring at his lizard of six years. "I hate my dad." He said softly to his pet.**_

* * *

_**Please Review. It makes me actually want to keep the story going. So even if all you say is Good Chapter I don't care, I love it either way. You can say the same thing 15 times and I wont care, just please review. **_


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer- I own nothing.

A/N- Alright. Its gonna get confusing, you can abandon this story now, or wait out with me. I don't mind either way. I'm gonna finish this, even if I have no readers left.

Please Review.

* * *

_May 24__th__, 2017_

_Stars Hollow_

"_Jess." Rory said lightly as she absently fiddled with a Barbie doll. _

"_Rory." He nodded as she let him into her home._

"_I'd ask why you were here, but I'm sure I know why." _

"_Will's birthday." Jess spoke simply. _

"_The big One Two." Rory said as they stood awkwardly in her living room._

"_I wanted to see him. I know that you don't want me in his life, but I miss him. And I miss you." _

_There was a long, pregnant pause before Rory spoke, "I miss you too sometimes." She sighed. _

_Jess' heart clenched, and the butterflies in his stomach were working overtime. All he wanted to do was step just a couple feet closer and kiss her. He restrained himself. _

"_Well, Will isn't gonna be back for another hour. School." She explained. _

_Jess was shocked; She was actually going to let him see Will, without any argument, or hassle, this certainly was a change from two years before. _

"_He's not your biggest fan." Rory warned him, looking guilty as she leaned against the door frame, still holding the Barbie. _

"_I know." _

"_I never explained it to him." She paused, "I was still so mad at you." _

"_For what?"_

"_I loved you so much, I left Tony, I left my life, the one I had worked so hard for. And then I find out that you had been with Shane, and that she was going to have your baby. And I was mad, because I wanted all of you. And I couldn't have all of you if Shane was there every other weekend and holidays." She finished softly. _

_There was another long pause, "It wasn't mine." _

_Rory looked up at him with red eyes, "I wish I knew that then. It would have…" _

"_Made things different." He finished for her. _

"_Better." She nodded as she sat down next to him._

"_I wish you hadn't left…" He paused as he moved closer to her, "I wish you would have talked to me." _

"_Funny." Rory spoke feeling light-headed due to her close proximity to the man she hasn't been able to get out of her mind for the last thirteen years._

"_Hmm?" Jess mumbled as Rory touched his hand._

"_I used to be the one that said that." She whispered as she closed the gap between them, placing her lips gently on his. _

_The frost door slammed shut, causing both Rory and Jess to separate in record time, as a little girl waltzed into the living room calling for Rory, "Mommy?" _

"_Hey honey, come here and meet my friend." _

_Lori walked forward and offered Jess her hand, "My name's Lorelei." _

_Jess smiled and shook her hand, "My name's Jess, its very nice to meet you Lorelei." _

_Rory smiled as Lori blushed and retracted her hand, going to next to her mother. _

_-_

_Will walked up to the house he had been living in for the past eight years. He heard laughing coming from inside, not anything out of the ordinary, especially in the Gilmore house. Though as he got closer he was able to distinguish that one of the three sets of laughter belonged to a man, something very unusual for the Gilmore home. _

_He opened the door and noticed that the man had stopped laughing. _

_Jess heard the door open and sobered himself. He was nervous. _

_Will made his way into the living room to find his mother and sister sitting with the man he knew as his father. He became angry. _

"_Why are you here?" He spat out with venom. _

"_Will.." Rory tried._

"_Come back to ruin another birthday?" He finished before dropping his back pack and running out of the house. _

_Jess stood abruptly, feeling the need to run after him._

_Rory stopped him, "I'll go. You stay here." She turned her attention to Lori, "Honey, stay here with Jess, I'm gonna go find your brother." _

"_Okay." She said with bright eyes. _

"_Love you. I'll be back." Rory said before walking out the door. _

_Lori turned to Jess, "You wanna watch a movie?" _

"_Sure." He smiled, "What do you wanna watch?"_

"_Scamper!" She yelled excitedly. _

"_Scamper?" Jess repeated her with a question. _

"_Scamper The Penguin." She explained pulling the DVD off the shelf and handing it to him. _

"_Scamper sounds great." _

_Lori smiled, jumping on to the couch with a soft thud. _

_-_

"_Will." Rory spoke softly as she approached her son, who was currently seated in the gazebo. _

"_Why is he here?" _

"_Because he's your father, and he's trying to be exactly that." She said sitting down._

"_I don't understand! What's different now? Two years ago you were yelling at each other, and he left! Why are you just letting him come back!? Last time this happened, you didn't go to work for a week, and Gramma had to come help you take care of me and Lori! He makes you cry! And he doesn't care!" Will cried out. _

"_He cares." _

"_NO!" He said jumping off of the bench, red faced, "He doesn't care about you, or me, or Lori! And I don't want him here!" He screeched before running in the direction of the Dragonfly. _

_-_

_After convincing Jess to call her Snow Flake, Lori spoke suddenly, "I know who you are." _

"_Oh yeah? Who am I?" _

"_You're my daddy." She said simply, eyes downward. _

"_Yeah I am." Jess sighed, "What else do you know?" _

"_I know that you're Will's daddy too." She paused, "And I know that you're the one Mommy talks about in her sleep. And I know that you were the first boy my mommy ever loved."_

"_Who told you all this?" _

"_Gramma and Grandpa." She answered simply. _

_It was a good minute before she spoke again, "Will doesn't like you… But I do." _

_Jess smiled, "Good, cause I love you. I always will." He said kissing her forehead as she hugged him._

* * *

**That's all for now folks!! **


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